After their concerts in South Africa, the Stones arrived in Tokyo and recorded tracks at EMI for a new album, combining studio tracks and live performances. The idea from the Toronto “school” rehearsal was to show another side of the Stones. There had been talk of them doing an Unplugged recording and this was their way of achieving something similar, stripped back to the quick. Chuck Leavell had experience of the format when he recorded with Eric Clapton for his 1992 UNPLUGGED album.

When approached by MTV, Mick Jagger declined the invite saying it would have been scheduled during the European leg of the tour. He would have also realised that the format had been going since 1989. A number of tracks were not released, some surfaced as unofficial out-takes while others like Parachute Woman are not available. However, if you wanted to put a marker up as the type of tracks to play, then this was one such number. Don Was and Ed Cherney (invited by Don) recorded the session and were very pleased with the performance and production. They had just finished attending the Grammys in Los Angeles, where they were both presented with production and engineer awards for Bonnie Raitt's LONGING IN THEIR HEARTS. They travelled overnight to Tokyo where the band were waiting for them in the studio.

The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions is a well-known reference source for authorities, journalists and enthusiasts.
It is a unique chronological history to the greatest rock and roll band in the World.